‘He was hurting’: CNN’s Van Jones slammed for defending man who stabbed Ukrainian refugee

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: CNN’s Van Jones is under fire after attempting to explain away the cold-blooded killing of a young Ukrainian refugee.

The left-wing pundit insisted that the attacker “was hurting” and that “hurt people hurt people.”

Jones made the eyebrow-raising remarks on CNN’s 'NewsNight' while reacting to the stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. Zarutska was riding a North Carolina light rail last month when 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr, a man with a lengthy rap sheet and a history of violent crime, viciously attacked her.

Van Jones says Charlotte ligh rail killer was 'hurting'

“What happened to that young woman was horrible, and it’s everybody’s nightmare,” Jones said. “We don’t know why that man did what he did.”

Jones then ripped conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who had suggested race was the motive. “And for Charlie Kirk to say, ‘We know he did it because she’s white,’ when there’s no evidence of that, is just pure race mongering, hate mongering. It’s wrong,” Jones said.

“It’s not about cashless bail or no cashless bail, it’s about the fact that we don’t know how to deal with people who are hurting in the way this man was hurting. Hurt people hurt people. What happened was horrible, but it becomes an opportunity for people to jump on bandwagons, and then for someone like Charlie Kirk– he should be ashamed of himself. No one mentioned the word race, white, black, or anything except him. What people mentioned is the horror of what happened to this young woman," Jones added.

Republican strategist Brad Todd actually backed him up. “Van, I agree with you. I don’t care who was white and who was Black, and I don’t know how Charlie Kirk got into it. I agree with you on that," he said.

But reports from the scene paint a darker picture. After killing Zarutska, Brown allegedly bragged, “I got that white girl."

Decarlos Brown Jr’s criminal past and federal charges

Brown already had a rap sheet filled with violent crimes before the killing. Now, federal prosecutors have charged him with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.

On September 9, Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed soft-on-crime policies while announcing the charges.

“Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” Bondi said. “I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr, a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”

If convicted, Brown faces life in prison or even the death penalty.

“This brutal attack on an innocent woman simply trying to get to her destination is an attack on the American way of life," Attorney Russ Ferguson added. “Of course, crimes like this affect the victim the most — Iryna deserves justice, and we will bring justice to her and her family. But crimes like this also affect everyone who relies on mass transportation to get to and from work and go about their daily lives, and federal charges are necessary to protect the public and ensure confidence in our transportation systems.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge James C Barnacle Jr revealed that the Ukrainian Embassy even offered to cover the costs to bring Zarutska’s body home, but her family refused. “No, she loved America,” they reportedly told officials. 

Social media backlash against Van Jones's comments

While Brown now awaits trial, Jones faced heavy backlash on social media for his comments that the perpetrator was “hurting.”

“Van Jones actually just said, ‘Hurt people hurt people,’ while attempting to garner sympathy for the man who stabbed Iryna Zarutska to death on the train,” one user posted on X.

“Everybody hurts. Not everyone stabs someone in the neck and murders,” another offered.

 “Deplorable, Van Jones. Absolutely deplorable. There is no defending this murderer’s actions no matter if they’re black, white, green, or orange,” someone else wrote.

“Damn I can’t believe Van Jones went there. Even though I disagree politically with him I NEVER thought he would go this low,” read a comment.

“Sympathy for the killer. Utter disdain for the victim. This is who the left are now,” another chimed in.

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